Phil’s Giant Meatlocker

Well fellow meatheads . . . somnehow we did it! Despite an up and down season our Gmen made it into the playoffs. I’m not sure exactly how . . . but they made it and the rest of the season means nothing now. The Giants truly need to be Nowists and embrace where they find themselves. It doesn’t matter how they struggled before, it doesn’t matter how bad the play calling and coaching was (and it was atrocious). If this team can fire it up now and gel at the right time they are only a few wins away from the Superbowl.

I know what you’re thinking . . . I’m delusional but with this being Tiki’s last season . . . maybe he can work a little Barber magic and the team will rally around him.

Although I have been absent a while (see my previous post about what has been keeping me so busy), I thought with the Giants, Eagles, and Dallas all making it into the playoffs it called for another NFC East Roundtable call. The last one we did a few days before the season kicked off and we were all full of hope and optimism. This call which we did yesterday was again only a day before the Playoffs kicked off. Needless to say we were much more grounded and realistic in our expectations.

As before I invited two friends of mine Marc “the Dallasshole” to represent the Dallas Cowboys side of things and Peter “I’m Green and I’m Proud” Martin to talk some Philadelphia Eagles smack. Unfortunately although Marc agreed to be on the call he was mysteriously missing last night despite my attempts to reach him. Maybe he was was too damn scared worrying about how his cowgirls facing the Seakhawks tonight.

It’s interesting to note that there was no Redskin rep in our first call and look what happened . . . they had a shitty season and were absent from the playoffs. It only seems logical then to expect that because Marc wasn’t on our call last night to talk his Cowboy trash that they will be humiliated tonight and lose to the Seahawks . . . and that leaves us with tomorrow nights game . . . Giants - Eagles. I expect it to be a smash mouth, hard hitting NFC East game as all Giant Eagle games are.

So Peter and I fired up the call last night and shared our thoughts, expectations, and questions about the upcoming game and the season in general.

So click the link below to listen in with the flash player or download the MP3 so you can listen on your computer or MP3 player. Enjoy and make sure to post some comments and feedback and let us know what you think!

 

 NFC East Roundtable - Playoff Call [51:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yeah yeah . . . I know . . . you thought I fell off the face of the planet . . . alas poor yorik . . . I have returned!! What was keeping me so occupied you ask?

Well . . . buying and closing on a new house, a move that was in reality 3 or 4 separate moves included over 1800 miles logged and many many states in a Penske truck (starting on a Sunday when Gooch and I listened to the Giants take on the Texans - the only game we got to share this season). Then unpacking, new home ownership types of things (I haven’t mowed a freakin lawn since I was 20), and the holidays.

Oh yeah . . . I was also watching our Giants SUCK A LOT! Sure they found a way to win last week (namely Tiki) but Jason (my brother) and I have been shouting for Coughlins head. I had faith in him when he came to the Giants but he has lost that faith. His horrendous play calling and the “lack of discipline and flexibility” I see from this team can only point to coaching. The talent is there . . . but he lacks creativity. Number and stats are not what coaching is all about . . . sure they are important . . . but it’s heart, tenacity, and the ability to inspire and orchestrate team chemistry that separate champion teams and champion coaches from the rest of the riff raff . . .

And I’ll tell you what . . . if I don’t see some marked improvement from Eli soon . . . I may be calling for his head soon too . . . I understand it takes time to learn but he seems to be moving backwards instead of forwards . . . he needs the right coach to bring him along (another reason Coughlin is NOT the guy).

Speaking of heart . . . Jerry Izenberg has it right when he says that Tiki holds the key to this playoff run. Big Blue needs to rally around Tiki . . .
Izenberg: Tiki holds the key

It’s Tiki’s final season and I can’t think of a better reason to FIRE IT UP!! “Make it nice for the Teak” (Yes . . . this is what it’s like in NJ at xmas time . . .)

BTW - Tonight I will be reconvening the NFC East council and doing another NFC East Roundtable Call with Marc (the dallasshole) and Peter “How did my Eagles win the division” Martin! We did one of these days before the regular season started and all of our teams are in the playoffs so I figured we had to fire it up for another one. I’ll post the audio tomorrow morning so you can kick off your playoff weekend right . . . with some NFC East Meat!!

To have soundly beat the Dallassholes in a tough, physical game yesterday - on Monday Night Football
To have the offense open things up with Eli completing a 50 yard TD pass to Burress on the first series

To have the run game in full effect from both Tiki and the BIG MAN . . . Brandon Jacobs (did you see him run over those Cowboys last night?)

To have the defense gelling, creating turnovers, stuffing the run, and beating up on the QB (despite the heart-breaking season ending injury to Lavaar Arington)
To be in first place emerging from that brutal six-game start with a 4-2 record and victories over all three of its divisional rivals.

Oh Yeah - it is a good Tuesday my fellow meatheads . . . breathe deep . . . enjoy it and walk tall!

Here are links to a few good articles and info on last nights game:

• Giants - A look at last nights victory
• The Giants over the Cowboys 36-22
• They rise in the East after ripping Cowboys
• Video Recap and Highlights of the Victory

Greetings fellow meatheads!

You didn’t really think I was going to let a Monday Night Football Giant - Dallas game come up without a video posted, did you? Things have been crazy busy lately as my wife and I are closing on our new house this Friday - but I was sure to fit in some meatheadness for this weeks game.

They don’t get better than this baby . . . Monday Night Football - playing Dallas with 1st place in the NFC East on the line - WAAAAAHOOOOO!

At the end of this week’s episode is a special surprise . . . A video tribute to the many Giant/Dallas games of the past I have attended with my good friend and your favorite Dallasshole . . . Marc. I took a bunch of photos from these games (along with some others of Giant mayhem and fun I had) and put them into a video montage to music (Lawrence Frog . . . One of my favorite songs from my bro’s old band Honey Child). They also supply the themes music for my podcast.
If you would like to hear some of Marc’s askew Dallas opinions listen to our first NFC East Roundtable Call. Speaking of which - yes I know we are overdue for call #2 with all the battles that have gone on in our division - we will have to try and fit that in some time soon . . .

Special thanks to NY Giant Brothers - Ronde Barber (2 INTs and 2 TDs against the Eagles yesterday) and Peyton Manning (4 TDs and 342 yards against the Redskins yesterday) for helping to vanquish the other 2 NFC East foes and make tonight’s game that much more exciting!

Enjoy today’s episode and the game tonight . . . I will have a big London Broil on the grill . . .

FIRE IT UP!

PS - I was playing with doing a handheld camera shot which is why I’m so IN YO FACE in this episode . . .

 

 Phil's Giant Meatlocker - Episode 7: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You have got to be freakin kidding me . . . according to this blog post on NBC Sports by none other than our FG Kicker Jay Feely (yes you read that right) weighing in on the subtle warning the NFL gave the Giants regarding the Defense celebrating big plays by doing a basketball swish move (often together as a group).

The Giants are “ballin” as you can see in this video.

Do you mean to tell me the NFL really has a problem with this?  Feely has it right in his post.  When did the NFL become a league for freakin’ Girl Scouts?  Between some of the “unecessary roughness” calls I’ve seen this season and now this - maybe they should all just where skirts and sell thin mints!

Well  . . . sometimes, although rarely, life gets in the way of catching the Giants game.  I was traveling last week for business and to visit with family.  Unfortunately the only flight back was yesterday (Sunday afternoon) when the Giants went to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. So I was only able to catch the last 3 minutes of the game as I changed planes in JFK airport (but of course Kim and I rushed over to the nearest sports bar in the airport we could find to tune in). Low and behold our Giants handed the Falcons a spanking!
I was so busy the week before I didn’t get to post a new video to officialy give the Giants props for their win over the Redskins.  Low and behold - the Gmen certainly did find Giant Football during the bye week.  After handing the Redskins a defeat a week ago - yesterday, after a shaky start, they played their brand of tough NFC East football to defeat Michael Vick and the Falcons 27 - 14 after having earlier fell behind 14-3.

I was getting text messages earier at the airport in Boston filling me in so when I got on the plane in Boston they were behind.  You can imagine my surprise when I turned on my phone walking from the runway in JFK to find that Brandon Jacobs has scored a TD and so had Shockey as well as a few Feeley FGs.  Then as I keep walking another text message . . . Shockey scored again - WAHOOOO!!  (Yes coach Coughlin always text messages me from the sidelines to keep me informed on what Big Blue is doing . . .)

When I came home I checked out the web to find that Tiki put up 185 rushing yards and the D handed Michael Vick 7 (yes count them 7) sacks!  Now that is Giant football baby.  Thanks to my Tivo I’m going to watch a readers digest version of the game to watch this thing of beauty.  With Philly and the Skins losing this week and the Cowboys winning it makes our game againt the Dallassholes this coming Monday even more critical and exciting.

Oh yeah baby . . . Now that’s what I’m talking about!!

Well well, it seems like during the bye week the entire team (to a man) looked inside themselves and found Giant Football!

It doesn’t get much more Giant football than a tough NFC East Victory (19-3) that included a hard nosed defense (that held the Redskins to only 164 yards of offense and 3 points),  a tough running game (Tiki rushed for 123 yards), and a well engineered, well thrown game from Eli Manning (23-of-33 for 256 yards). It was a true team effort - Toomer certainly came to play, Brandon Jacobs had his share of the ball, and even TE Visanthe Shiancoe came down with a few balls.

Eli played a great game and I believe took a major step in his maturation as a Giant QB. He played smart football, stayed in the pocket when he had to complete the tough throws, worked the clock, and engineered some very Giant Like drives throughout the game. Way to go Eli!

Even the coaching staff seemed to “finally get it”. They were calling some creative plays, mixing it up, blitzing the qb, throwing some screens, and keeping the Redskins guessing.

I think we all needed this game. Just what the doctor ordered . . . some good old fashioned Giants ass whooping. At one point we hit a Redskin so hard . . . I saw him vomit before he got up off the ground (thanks Fox for the excellent camera work) . . . Now THAT IS GIANT FOOTBALL!!

BTW being that it was a big NFC East battle - I was preparing game day food the day before . . . this week it called for a bit of the famous Montero Pasta - with with what else of course . . . A TON OF MEAT! Here is a photo of me on Saturday about to FIRE IT UP!

I’ll post a video update today or tomorrow . . . stay tuned and FIRED UP!

In the other big NFC East matchup this week the Eagles D will get their first chance to take a shot at TO when the Cowboys travel to Philly this week.

I was reading Mike Garafolo’s Giants blog on the Star Ledger site today (what better to do on a Friday before a big game) and I saw this . . .

* If T.O. gets out of Philly unharmed, I’ll be stunned. Did anybody see the sign one fan held up on during Monday night’s Eagles game? It read, “Get well, T.O., so we can hurt you.” They’re not joking.

I guess Philly is ready to show him a little “Brotherly Love” . . .

Hey fellow meatheads . . . I know the Giants last game and the bye week might have lulled a few of you to sleep . . . but lest we forget we got the REDSKINS coming into OUR HOUSE this week. Time to Fire it up!

A couple of articles I found this week to fill you in on the drama of this weeks game . . .

Gerris Wilkinson, a rookie linebacker, is getting his shot to start after filling in at the end of last weeks game for the injured Carlos Emmons. He has a great attitude and is ready to mix it up!

LaVar Arrington has revenge on his mind when he lines up against his old Redskins team this week. He was quiet all week in the media but they took some shots and he replied.

He and Antonio Pierce are former Redskins and are ready make their mark this week. Last year, Pierece’s first as a Giant, contributed to that beautiful shutout of the Redskins in Giants Stadium last year on the day the Gmen were honoring their beloved Wellington Mara.

My wife (and fellow meathead) Kim were there that sunny day . . . Here is a photo us in Mecca (aka Giants Stadium) from the game:

I can only hope that this week the Giants can match that fire . . . they need it - time for everyone to STEP UP!
GO BLUE!!

I’ve got to tell you about a few other great podcasts I’ve stumbled on that you definitely want to check out.

Armchair Quarterbacks - A Giant fan and a Dallasshole give their weekly commentary on the NFL . . . Good Stuff! Benglish (the Giant fan part of the duo that hosts this audio podcast) gave me a shout out a few week backs and linked to me from his blog. I have listened to their show and it’s a lot of fun and full of good meathead commentary. While they talk about the NFL in general it clearly has an NFC East slant. Check it out!

Wine Library TV - Why am I listing a video podcast about wine here you may be asking? Because Gary Vaynerchuk, the host of this video podcast, is a raging Jets fan and starts almost every podcast out with him ranting about the Jets. Even though he represents the team that uses our stadium ;-P I enjoy his meatheadedness (my new word) and he has some great info about wine too! (Episodes 99 and 100 don’t have much Jets talk but are fun anyway . . . check out any of the others that came out during football season)
If you know of other good NY Giant podcasts be sure to let me know!